A/N: Uhhh not sure why the last chapter flopped, but that's cool lol I'm glad that I have a small following dedicated readers! <333

It was only a few minutes into their conversation, but Sakura was not feeling the most comfortable speaking with the First Hokage face-to-face.

"I was under the impression I was not worth living a good life," the girl admitted, looking away. Why, she did not know.

"Look at me." The pinkette complied, turning ever-so slightly. "Why is it you think that?"

"I am not sure. Perhaps it has to do with my betrayals. Or that my only purpose was to be of assistance to Orochimaru, and now that I have renounced him, I am nothing." Sakura continued looking down at her reflection while standing, and Hashirama sitting beside her. She watched her reflection, for the first time feeling something that made her stomach churn, but not necessarily in a bad way. It made her not want to look up and meet his gaze.

"First, sit. We should have a heart-to-heart conversation as equals."

This caused Sakura look up, her eyes wider than usual. "Equals with the former Hokage?"

"We're all the same when you really think about it. Now, sit." He pointed to the space across from him, and Sakura slowly got closer and then sat. Surprisingly, the watery ground didn't make her clothing wet. "I'll get to the point, since we're running a bit short on time. Why are you not worthy to have a good life? The fact that you sat down with me as an equal must also mean that I shouldn't have a life of happiness, if what you say is correct."

"I only sat because you would have continued to insist," Sakura argued, then looked down at her lap. "I have only caused misfortune for those around me. Naruto, Sasuke, Jiraiya, Tsunade...even Kakashi. If I did not exist—" she paused and looked up before down again, "—I would have saved everyone a lifetime of sorrow. That is my purpose. To destroy Konohagakure. I am nothing, now."

"Do you know what I see?" Sakura felt a hand move her chin up to eye level, then disappear. "I see a lost girl with potential and perhaps not the best of morals. But I also see a girl that raised others. Naruto, Sasuke, Genta—you helped all of them, and for that, they are grateful."

She shook her head. "I did those things out of expectations of a reward. Not once did I do it for them. I manipulated them. Cheated them. Lied to them. I am not worthy of their appreciation."

"Do you really think you're a bad person if you're putting yourself down this much? You take these things too hard on yourself. Naruto—you saved him from those bullies all those years ago, and ever since, ignored what the villagers said about him. Sasuke? You saved him from a life of loneliness, whether you realized it or not, and introduced him to others. Genta—you saved him from the streets, and taught him a life of honor. Did you know he looks up to you? He saw you as his hero. If people consider you a hero, which all three of them do, are you really a bad person, or are you making yourself out to be one?"

Sakura stared down again, not saying a word. But Hashirama could see the wheels turning in her head, processing the information. He continued: "Everyone that has made an impact to Konoha always started off rough. You don't see just anyone in the village with true grit that those from harsh pasts have. Those that suffer and endure through that suffering...they inherit the Will of Fire. I believe you already have the Will of Fire in you, even if you had a bad beginning."

Hashirama looked behind her in the distance, nostalgia all over his face until he snapped out of what he was thinking. "And having the Will of Fire ain't exactly bad, either. Just look at me! I was the Hokage!" He chuckled and scratched the back of his head in a bashful way before looking up. A small smile made its way to his face at the sight before him: Sakura sitting with her legs spread out from underneath while trying to wipe away the flow of tears. He chuckled again.

"Hey, I'm not done. What's most important is not your past. No, it's that you, Sakura, a kunoichi of Konohagakure, have the Will of Fire deeply imbedded in every single fiber of your body!" By now, Hashirama was standing and breathing heavily from his speech, with his hand out to her.

Sakura nodded and wiped away her tears before taking his hand and letting him pull her up. "I am Sakura." Her eyes felt swollen, and the dried up tear on her face made it kind of itchy, but she was feeling better than ever.

:::

"Hey, Sakura-chan. We've got good news and bad news for ya. Which on do you wanna hear first?" Naruto ignored the comment in Sasuke's behalf on how Sakura couldn't answer him, then continued. "Bad news first. The Council already decided on what to do with you, dattebayo. Baa-chan was so angry..." He trailed off, then cleared his throat. The blonde turned to his friend. "Do you want to tell her the good news?"

"Tch." Sasuke stepped forward, despite saying the idea was dumb. "You got off fairly easy for treason. You have probation for the next six months." He turned to Naruto. "There, are you happy?"

Beep...beep...

The heart rate got quicker, causing the two into a panic.

"What the hell did you do, Teme?!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the collar and began shaking him vigorously. "It's all your fault, —ttebayo, and not at all because I may have spilled some ramen on the equipment earlier!"

Suddenly, Sasuke took hold of Naruto's collar and shook him as well. "You spilled...? Naruto, you're so fucking dumb! Push the red button!"

While Naruto's head of lolling around as he was shook, he managed to smash his hand against the button before being let go of by Sasuke. The blonde slid to the floor, exhausted, and then quietly died. At least, that's what he thought had happened. "Get out of the way, loser." Sasuke grumbled, then resorted to dragging his body away from the bed to make way for Tsunade, who had barreled in moments ago. Naruto sprung up, saluting to her. He wore a big smile but was nervously sweating profusely, from what Sasuke could tell.

"Sakura—she's waking up!" Tsunade turned to the two and gave them a thumbs up. "You two have to leave, though. Too many people will confuse her. You can visit her tomorrow around noon."

Wow this may have been my favorite chapter to write. What will happen to Sakura?